My Sixteenth Anthology Publication – Shadows in the Raven’s Eye by Zombie Works Publications

Happy Winter Solstice!

The holiday season is the most festive time of the year, but the longest night is also perfect for reading horror. Thanks to the elves, I received an early Christmas present, my copy of Shadows in the Raven’s Eye: A Reimagining of Poe’s Tales by Zombie Works Publications. This is my sixteenth anthology publication, and I couldn’t be happier that my story, “Silence Is Madness,” is finally in print.

You can get a copy of this anthology as an ebook or paperback through Amazon.

The Submission Call Chaos

So, I found out about Shadows in the Raven’s Eye from a friend less than a week before the submission window closed.

Yep, you read that right. Less than a week before the deadline.

My inner monologue went something like this.

OMG, a Poe anthology!!! I gotta do this. I love Poe.

But there’s no way I can come up with an idea, write the story, get feedback, and revise that fast.

But it’s a Poe reimagining anthology.

I need to do this. If I don’t, I’ll be so mad at myself.

Once I chose chaos, I started thinking about what story I wanted to reimagine. My first thought was to do one of my long-time favorites, like “The Raven” or “The Masque of the Red Death.” Then, I decided to read some of Poe’s stories I had never heard of before. One of those was his fable, “Silence.”

As soon as I started reading “Silence,” I knew it was the one. This story is so unique and has several elements I love, like lyrical prose, nature imagery, suspense, and the supernatural. When I finished reading it, I immediately read it again. No joke. By that point, I had a crystal clear idea for how I wanted to reimagine “Silence.”

A Peek Into “Silence Is Madness”

First, I want to say that a great deal of care goes into writing a story like “Silence Is Madness.” Poe was a horror legend and truly shaped the genre, so reimagining his work comes with a responsibility to respect his legacy.

I have written other stories that were inspired by Poe, but doing a true reimagining is very different. It was so important for me to draw on Poe’s style and the fable’s core message and main elements, while bringing my fresh twist and authentic voice to the story. So, to be totally honest, the imposter syndrome crept in a little. I’m so glad I pushed through that, though, because I’m incredibly proud of this story.

“Silence Is Madness” follows a young girl named Nisreen as she navigates the death of her parents and sister in a sudden fire that burned their house to the ground. While sitting in the grass beside the house’s ruins, Nisreen is overwhelmed by the sounds from the crackling fire and crumbling stones, and she imagines she can hear the Devil’s laughter. Since it’s a clear, calm night, the fire should have never happened, so Nisreen believes the Devil is behind the tragedy. Craving silence and solitude, Nisreen ventures through the forest to a river and collapses onto a gray rock on the bank. A tempest disrupts the peaceful stillness, and eventually, Nisreen snaps, leaps to her feet, and shouts that she came to the river for silence. All at once, the tempest stops, and everything goes quiet, from the rustling trees to the flowing water. Nisreen soon realizes the Devil didn’t grant her wish for the tranquil quiet of nature. He cursed her with pure silence, an auditory abyss.

I love Poe’s fable so much because it explores the power of silence. At the beginning of my reimagining, Nisreen shares that she has always believed that silence is bliss, while sound is madness, which is why she wants to escape to the river, a tranquil haven in nature. By the end of the story, though, her perspective flips, and she realizes that sound is bliss, while silence is madness.

“Silence Is Madness” Was Co-Authored by Poe’s Spirit

Okay, I’m being totally serious here. I genuinely think Poe’s spirit wrote the story with me.

When I sat down to draft “Silence Is Madness,” the first passage I wrote ended up being close to the beginning, but not the very beginning. I have this super vivid memory of writing that passage, reading it back, and wondering where in the world those words came from.

As I wrote the rest, I went into this weird trance I sometimes go into while drafting. Basically, I start typing, blink, then a whole draft is in the document. When I read the first draft of “Silence Is Madness,” I got chills. My authorial voice is in the story, but Poe’s style is so woven throughout, from subtle word choices and the way certain sentences are structured to the atmospheric and lyrical prose.

Inspiration flowed like the river in my story. Was it Poe’s ghost? The Nine Muses from Greek mythology? Just me channeling my inner Poe? I’ll never know, but the whole drafting experience was very supernatural-coated.

Devouring Shadows in the Raven’s Eye

The anthology was published on December 16, and since I love Poe so much, I couldn’t wait to read the other stories. So, I put the ebook on my iPad, planned on reading a few stories a day, then ended up devouring the whole book in less than twenty-four hours.

Reading Shadows in the Raven’s Eye was such a wonderful experience. I truly can’t believe I’m published alongside such talented authors and creative reimaginings of Poe’s tales. Once I started reading, I literally couldn’t put the book down.

I could tell that every author gave their all to each story because their passion for the craft of writing and love for Poe’s work jumped off the page. These aren’t casual reimaginings. No, they’re reimaginings that capture the heart and soul of Poe’s stories and breathe fresh life into them.

Also, I love how the publisher broke the anthology into sections based on the type of horror, like gothic horror and psychological horror. “Silence Is Madness” closes the poetic and romantic horror section.

As a whole, Shadows in the Raven’s Eye is a special anthology that respects Poe’s legacy, and I’m beyond honored to be one of the twenty-four authors published in this book.

Opening My Copy of Shadows in the Raven’s Eye

After reading the ebook, I was even more excited to get my paperback. I loved opening the book, and you can watch my video on YouTube.

Finally holding this anthology in my hands was the best feeling.

Thank you so much to the whole team at Zombie Works Publications for giving “Silence Is Madness” a forever home in Shadows in the Raven’s Eye. This anthology is definitely a special one in my collection.

Oh, and Poe, if you read this book from the other side, I hope you love my story and all the others!